photo_i
Explorer
Nah, I'm sticking to my guns :sombrero:
IPhone 5s as photographer's tool
- Thread starter haven
- Start date
Nah, I'm sticking to my guns :sombrero:
photo_i
Explorer
It is and it isn't.
Yes, you'll have a photo that some very forgiving media (such as canvas) will be able to print on, but then I personally prefer conventional photos (although I did print some heavily PSed Paris pics on water color paper once and they turned put pretty sweet )...
graynomad
Photographer, traveller
[rant]
The good thing about "proper" prints is that they can be stored for decades. I can look at my grandad's pics using the same technology he did, eyes. How will your grand kids look at your photos, do you think they will have an iThingy that can read 50-year-old file formats?
I fear that all the current photos being taken will be lost to ever-marching technology because nobody will take the time to migrate their 20,000 photos to the new formats as they appear, and I wonder how many people store every photo they've ever taken on a single hard disk.
There are various government initiatives to help (my own website has been archived by the Australian National Library as a "Publication of National Significance" (I guess they don't get out much)) but I don't think they have much hope. For example I was approached a few weeks ago to provide the source code and schematics for a project I designed 30 years ago. It was quite innovative at the time and obviously they decided it should be preserved for posterity. Even if I still had the code it would be on cassette (and imprinted so therefore unreadable even if you could find a machine) or 8" floppy. Any ideas how I would read it?
While I'm far from being a the "doddery old guy" phase of my life I can certainly see that on the horizon, sitting on the veranda looking at old photos and reminiscing. I wonder how I will do that if I don't have hard copies because I will have long ago stopped upgrading computers etc and my iPad 4 will be broken by then (or more likely the battery cactus and incompatible with the current offerings of the day).
[/rant]
Maybe I should spend less time thinking about moving to video (which is 10x worse in this regard) and more time getting books printed, with current technology that's pretty easy to do.
I thank you guys and this thread for helping me to see the way I should go
The good thing about "proper" prints is that they can be stored for decades. I can look at my grandad's pics using the same technology he did, eyes. How will your grand kids look at your photos, do you think they will have an iThingy that can read 50-year-old file formats?
I fear that all the current photos being taken will be lost to ever-marching technology because nobody will take the time to migrate their 20,000 photos to the new formats as they appear, and I wonder how many people store every photo they've ever taken on a single hard disk.
There are various government initiatives to help (my own website has been archived by the Australian National Library as a "Publication of National Significance" (I guess they don't get out much)) but I don't think they have much hope. For example I was approached a few weeks ago to provide the source code and schematics for a project I designed 30 years ago. It was quite innovative at the time and obviously they decided it should be preserved for posterity. Even if I still had the code it would be on cassette (and imprinted so therefore unreadable even if you could find a machine) or 8" floppy. Any ideas how I would read it?
While I'm far from being a the "doddery old guy" phase of my life I can certainly see that on the horizon, sitting on the veranda looking at old photos and reminiscing. I wonder how I will do that if I don't have hard copies because I will have long ago stopped upgrading computers etc and my iPad 4 will be broken by then (or more likely the battery cactus and incompatible with the current offerings of the day).
[/rant]
Maybe I should spend less time thinking about moving to video (which is 10x worse in this regard) and more time getting books printed, with current technology that's pretty easy to do.
I thank you guys and this thread for helping me to see the way I should go
photo_i
Explorer
Maybe I should spend less time thinking about moving to video (which is 10x worse in this regard) and more time getting books printed, with current technology that's pretty easy to do.
I thank you guys and this thread for helping me to see the way I should go
I chime to that!
Been kicking myself for a very long time to get albums done on some Zulu or other and still to no avail. Lazy bum that I am... 
moto-treks
On the road
This summer I rode the continental divide trail. I decided to leave my D300 at home and only bring my iPhone. While I occasionally missed the telephoto lens, I did not miss the 15 lbs of gear in my tank bag. For the most part the iPhone worked fine and was easily accessible in my jacket pocket.
graynomad
Photographer, traveller
Reckon.
I do multi-day walks and the weight is getting a bit tedious. I used to walk with a large-format camera, the full kit occupied maybe half of my pack, just the film was about 1 cubic foot in size. When I went back to SLRs/DSLRs it was like it weighed nothing. Now I'm sick of that as well
Colin Hughes
Explorer
It seems the smart phone is being used by more and more people to take and share photos. Makes you wonder why companies like Nikon and Canon don't start aligning themselves with one of the main players, Apple, etc, and work with in-phone technology and aftermarket lenses, etc. Just like film, the sales of higher end digital cameras is shrinking. I'd hate to see them die completely. Yes I still love shooting with my D200, but sometimes it is easier to whip out the Iphone.
graynomad
Photographer, traveller
No matter how they go with the technology there are serious ergonomic issues with the phone format I think.
Might be better to add a the phone hardware to a small SLR
If I could get say 14-700mm focal range in 2-3 lenses (but of course 1 or 2 would be better) at f4, very high quality, fast focus, and small form factor I would. The m4/3 system is very close to that but still not as small as phone of course.
The alternative is to forget wildlife and just do landscapes, then you don't need the long lenses. Landscapes are much easier than wildlife on most respects.
Might be better to add a the phone hardware to a small SLR
If I could get say 14-700mm focal range in 2-3 lenses (but of course 1 or 2 would be better) at f4, very high quality, fast focus, and small form factor I would. The m4/3 system is very close to that but still not as small as phone of course.
The alternative is to forget wildlife and just do landscapes, then you don't need the long lenses. Landscapes are much easier than wildlife on most respects.
Colin Hughes
Explorer
But wildlife is what most of these young folks with smartphones photograph. Have you not seen all the photos of their friends in bars drinking ....
photo_i
Explorer
Lost Canadian
Expedition Leader
I think the phone camera has reached a point where it's good enough to effectively be used to capture everyday moments, quickly, easily, and with more than sufficient quality for small prints and computer screens. After looking at the pictures I have captured with my old G and S series P&S Canons compared to shots from my iPhone, there's honestly not enough of a difference there for me to want to carry anything other than my phone for non critical shots and my DSLR only when I'm working with it or looking for the best possible quality.
graynomad
Photographer, traveller
Yeah, you can argue about blown highlights and flare etc but the point is they are nice photos and in the future will evoke great memories. As I said somewhere before I spent a lifetime trying to win a Pulitzer and looking down my nose at happy snaps, as a result I have precious few memory shots like these and I regret it.
Of course for most of that time smartphones didn't exist and you had to pay for film and processing, but there were options, small cameras and home darkrooms.
Love the shots BTW, the two doggy portraits are great but there's something about #3 that I like to. Just two dogs running free along a path and living in the moment without a care in the world, no worries about anything least of all whether or not a smartphone photo is good enough
Of course for most of that time smartphones didn't exist and you had to pay for film and processing, but there were options, small cameras and home darkrooms.
Love the shots BTW, the two doggy portraits are great but there's something about #3 that I like to. Just two dogs running free along a path and living in the moment without a care in the world, no worries about anything least of all whether or not a smartphone photo is good enough
grimbo
Explorer
My take on it is that it has made photography very accessible for many people. Yes there are lots of selfies, shots of peoples dinner etc but for many others theycan take a decent shot that is never going to be seen by anything other than a phone, tablet or monitor or perhaps printed in a digital print book.
Quality of technical aspects is secondary to the memory and the joy of taking a pic.
I have quite a few professional photographers (whether commercial or journalist) and most of them enjoy the limitations of the phones but love the spontaneity and the ability to get a lot closer to subjects. Poking a big bodied camera with a big lense into someone's personal space is not going to illicit the best response but a little phone camera is a heck of a lot less intimidating and more personal.
Quality of technical aspects is secondary to the memory and the joy of taking a pic.
I have quite a few professional photographers (whether commercial or journalist) and most of them enjoy the limitations of the phones but love the spontaneity and the ability to get a lot closer to subjects. Poking a big bodied camera with a big lense into someone's personal space is not going to illicit the best response but a little phone camera is a heck of a lot less intimidating and more personal.